As the OP has indicated, this is technically a bug - there is a launchpad bug-report, confirmation that it is a bug and in this case it looks like a possible workaround by moving to Quantal.

The question itself refers to Ubuntu 12.04 where the bug-applies.

Moderators nor senior community members cannot close and mark this question as off-topic since it has a bounty on it.

Moderators can refund the bounty and then close if required.

As a general policy, how does the Ask Ubuntu community wish to deal with this and similar situations in the future. Should these "bounty-bug" questions remain open? Maybe leave open until the question is resolved or bounty period expires?

2 Answers
2

Like all bug-related questions, I suggest we close them. Just because it was bountied doesn't make it any different from other bug questions and hence, we should refund the bounty and close it as off-topic.

Given the nature that it is a bug, I don't see how the question would be resolved if it were left open. Waiting for the bounty period to expire sounds too evil IMO, especially when we know for sure that there already is a confirmed bug report regarding the question.

The question is resolved, 'No - it's a bug and cannot currently be accomplished' is the correct answer. Questions aren't guaranteed a working solution here and 'No' is sometimes the correct response.
– Tom BrossmanOct 9 '12 at 15:15

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@TomBrossman but the question is still off-topic. Bountying it doesn't change the fact it's a bug.
– jrgOct 9 '12 at 15:34

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@TomBrossman Does it mean we shouldn't refund the bounty because the person knew what he was getting himself into?
– jokerdino♦Oct 9 '12 at 15:37

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@jrg agreed, just pointing out that bug-related questions can still get a valid answer.
– Tom BrossmanOct 9 '12 at 15:37

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@TomBrossman The mods can indeed refund the bounty. They are just looking for a community policy so they aren't called for misuse of power in the future. ;)
– jokerdino♦Oct 9 '12 at 15:39

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@TomBrossman "No - it's a bug and cannot currently be accomplished" is an answer, but it's not necessarily the correct one. There might be a workaround for the bug, or a patch. By searching for it as a bug or reporting it as a bug, the OP would get this information, but by posting here, they could only get that quite-likely wrong answer. This is one of the reasons we close questions that are essentially bug reports--we're not likely to answer them correctly, and votes on their answers are unlikely to indicate their correctness reliably.
– Eliah KaganOct 10 '12 at 15:09

I put the information that it was a bug in an answer since it wouldn't allow me to vote to close and flagged it for moderator attention (prior to finding this Q&A). I did both hoping to cover all the bases. Providing the OP with the information required while hopefully following site guidelines.